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Thursday, 27 February 2014

I know that when you're a grown up, half terms don't really matter unless you're a teacher, but as I'm a singing teacher, although I work in half term, the workload isn't as strenuous, giving me time to enjoy the finer things in life! So this is just a quick catch up to let you all know what I've been up to...

Cosmopolitan, my Mama L, bit of a selfie...couple of buys...

So, last Tuesday I did take a day off for a lovely browse around Newcastle with my Mama L. We hit the jackpot and won £25 on the Lotto, so we thought it would pay our little Metro ride and buy us a spot of lunch, which it did with a £1 to spare...last of the big spenders! It has to be a world record for me to have only spent £12 of my own money in Newcastle, but honestly I could've spent about £12,000...Burberry, Vivienne Westwood, Chanel makeup...why must you torture me so??!! I always enjoy browsing around the high-end fashion. I am obsessed with tailoring, and what better way to see exquisite tailoring than look at designer clothes. If anyone comes into money and wants to treat me, I'm going to a ball next Friday and would really like this...

Vivienne Westwood Aztec Multi dress £480

Image taken from "www.styloko.com"

I did buy myself some '9-5' cleanser from Lush though, that was my big splurge of the day...£4.95! I'd really recommend it, particularly if you have sensitive skin, it's great for taking your makeup off, I find it much gentler than wipes. You can buy yours here!

Image taken from "www.lush.co.uk"

Now I'm not really a drinker at all, but I do like the odd cocktail, so after tirelessly browsing the shops, we went to Indigo in The Gate and finished off with a nice drink. Mama L loves a white wine, mine was of course a Cosmo (see collage)...which by the way they now sell by the bottle in Tesco's!!! What a treat my Mister and I had on Saturday night when we found that out...and it's actually very, very nice!

A Tesco Cosmo!!!

Finally, the two little pics on the end of my collage are my latest purchases from Scout, my lovely friend Angela's shop which you can read about here! I'm being so careful with my spending to save up for my Paris trip, but I couldn't resist this lovely white floaty blouse and those gorgeous pink Roland Cartier shoes. In fact I think they'll be coming to Paris with me! And the best part? Under £20 for both purchases...£14.95 for the shoes and £4.45 for the top...sometimes you've got to love a little bit of vintage!

I'm going to a Vintage fair Saturday, and then a charity ball next week with my VBF and our lovely boyfriends, so if you don't hear from me before, will have lots to tell you about then!

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

Hello my lovelies! Has anyone else been uber excited about how good London Fashion Week has been for the AW '14/15 season? I cannot believe how great some of the shows have been. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to watch everything...work and shiz, you know the drill, but what I have watched I've adored!! So I guess this post kind of summarises my highlights...the bits I think you need to go back and take a look at, even if you saw them the first time around! Welcome to my favourite bits from London Fashion Week...

I had to start this post with my ultimate favourite fashion mammy, yes you know what's coming...Dame Vivienne Westwood herself! This was the AW version of her Red Label, ready-to-wear collection...and if I were rich I'd be ready to wear it all! The collection definitely referenced some of Westwood's previous works, with the return of the Mini-Crini (first seen in her 1985 collection of the same name), the heart jacket seen in the Harris Tweed collection (1987/88) and the striking Sarah Stockbridge similarities seen in some of the models, to name a few. And then there was tartan...and lots of it! I know tartan is used in many Westwood collections, but it seems only she can manage to rework it and make it seem fresh and new. I thought all of the looks were outstanding, and I can't remember ever loving a collection so much.

The return of the mini-crini

I adore this dress, stunning!

The Harris-Tweed collection heart jacket returns

Tartan and stunning tailoring

So secondly, I want to talk about Mulberry's launch of the Cara bag. Now I absolutely adore and admire Cara Delevigne, so I couldn't wait to see the reveal. However, I have to say I was a little disappointed; I'm not keen at all on the backpacks, or the camouflage print. But I did love the campaign! My VBF told me about the '#SeeYouSunday' video Mulberry released earlier in the week (you can view this here) which features Cara walking through a railway station interspersed with flashing images of the bags being made. I also loved the reveal, which I won't spoil for you! If you haven't already seen it, watch it here! I think it's great that Mulberry chose to reveal in this way, rather than on the runway. And even though the bags aren't to my taste, I expect that with Cara's name associated, they'll be flying off shelves all over the world. Go Cara!

The reveal of Mulberry's Cara collection

Although I didn't watch the show, I was blown away by the Sophia Webster campaign, what a fun way to display shoes! The presentation put me in mind of Pop Art meets a Katy Perry video. Beautiful shoes and a fun way to show them...I love a good creative difference! You can view the full gallery here.

Sophia Webster's presentation

Finally, I want to talk about Burberry, "The Bloomsbury Girls". Last but by no means least, I could've cried at how beautiful this campaign was. Nipped in trench coats, oversized bags, scarves and ponchos featuring gorgeous prints, Christopher Bailey channelled a picture of elegance and beauty down the runway. And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, out stepped Paloma Faith!!! I LOVE Paloma. Her voice was like velvet and she looked amazing. Then Cara closed the show, sporting her own initials on her poncho, closely followed by all of the other models wearing the same. Suki Waterhouse looked beautiful, Edie Campbell looked edgy, Cara walked like she owned the show...and Bradley Cooper was on the Frow...YUM...need I say more. Thank you Burberry! Watch the campaign here, you won't regret it, I could watch it over and over!!

Sunday, 16 February 2014

So here it is, as promised, the verdict of my Valentine's meal. Allow me to set the scene...

First port of call was Asda to pick up my meal goodies. After thinking I had been given a ham and pineapple pizza as a replacement for vanilla extract, I was slightly worried, but when I got home I realised I actually had just been given the pizza by mistake! PHEW! So sorry to whoever's Valentine's tea I spoiled by stealing their pizza, and a big sigh of relief that I didn't have to try and put the pizza into my cheesecake as a vanilla replacement!! :D

I spent Friday afternoon prepping my meal, and much to my amazement everything went really smoothly! I completed my dessert, prepared my chicken, made some snazzy lemon mayonnaise, then dashed off to work, ready to finish everything when I got home.

Luckily, when I returned a few hours later, my Mister was just leaving to take our pooch for a walk, giving me time to prettify the house, throw on a dress and crack on with the meal. My menu was as follows:

Starter

Asparagus wrapped in parma ham served with lemon mayonnaise

Raspberry Prosecco Cocktails

Main Course

Parmesan Chicken breasts with crispy posh ham served with mash and green veg

Dessert

Vanilla Cheesecake

I tried to choose stuff that I hadn't ever cooked before, that would tickle my Miser's taste-buds, but wouldn't be too stressful to cook, yet would still look impressive! And I don't want to blow my own trumpet but I was really impressed with the outcome, and my Mister was too! Result! Everything went to plan and was totally stress free and best of all I even managed to sit down, relax and enjoy it myself. We chatted, listened to music, and even had a drink and a dance around the sitting room...proof that staying in is the new going out! I think it was my favourite Valentine's in a long while, and it was so lovely for us to spend some quality time together.

As an added bonus, for all I said we don't bother with presents for Valentine's, my Mister surprised me with tickets for us to go and see Jack Whitehall in March, which I am very excited about. It was such a thoughtful gift as I really wasn't expecting it, and it's something else we can both enjoy together. Plus it was nice to know that all my cooking hard work was appreciated. Aww, he's a keeper <3

The roses were my little flowery gift to myself (just like I mentioned in my last post!) but I have to confess, I did also buy one of those gorgeous Lush heart locket bombs from my previous post! I bought it on Saturday though, so technically it wasn't a Valentine's self-indulgent present but I can't wait to use it!!!

I hope all of your Valentine's dreams came true! How did you spend yours?

xxx

PS-thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to follow my little blog, best Valentine's present I could wish for <3

Wednesday, 12 February 2014

So, Friday sees the arrival of Valentine's Day (where is this year going, it only seems like 5 minutes since I was blogging about Christmas!!) and I'm just pondering what it is you do with your Valentine's?

For singletons...

When I was single, which seems like forever ago now, I always had this rule on Valentine's day to not be bothered about it, and the way to not be bothered is to treat yourself, rather than someone else! I used to always buy myself a small bunch of flowers (which I still do because if anything they make the house look gorgeous!), or maybe a new CD, or something as simple as a Lush bubble bar, because there is absolutely nothing wrong with loving yourself (not in a vain way, just you should always love who you are as a person!), after all if you can't love yourself, how can you ever expect someone else to? If there are a few of you in the same boat, why not spend Valentine's Day together? Have a girlie night out, or a chick flick night in! The most important thing is to not mope about it...honestly it's just another day, take the positives from it and really make it one to remember! If I was treating myself this year...these things would be on my treat/wishlist...

Lush Love Locket £6.95

It's full of heart shaped confetti!!! How exciting is that? You can buy yours here!

Vivienne Westwood Zita Valentine Stud Earrings £50

I LOVE these earrings <3, they're actually out of stock at the moment, but may be available in some Vivienne Westwood stores, or alternatively you can register your interest here for when they are back in stock...go on you deserve it!

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick #67 Deauville £24

Just because I really, really want it!! I went to Chanel to buy a new blusher at Christmas and the lady put this on me too. It's not a shade I would usually go for but I loved it! My favourite lipsticks by a million miles. You can buy yours at Chanel.

For couples...

When I first starting seeing my Mister, we used to always go out for a meal on Valetine's day. Admittedly it is a little pricier than other days of the year, but no matter where you go, there is always such a lovely atmosphere. We never really bothered with presents for each other, to be honest I still don't really see the point in spending an absolute fortune on gifts. We ALWAYS get each other a card though, I think cards are really special. Now we live together, we usually spend Valentine's Day at home, and we take turns to cook for each other. As it's on a Friday this year, initially we were going to break tradition and go out, but as we are saving for Parieee, it's my turn to cook this year! I'd say, if you're a new couple, or have only been together for a couple of years, or you don't have the opportunity to spend it at home, definitely go for a meal if you can. But shop around, some of the best restaurants offer set meal deals for Valentine's, so you can feel like you're going all out without the hefty price tag. Of course if you can be lavish, then why the heck not? It's always nice to treat the person you love...no matter what day of the year it is!

For us...

I've planned an amazing Valentine's three course meal for us this year. I don't want to say what I'm cooking just in case my Mister happens to browse this blog for clues...but I will post the menu and pictures at the end of the week. Let's just say I've had a little bit of help from good old Jamie Oliver, and the Good Food website...and this year I've even done some forward planning and already ordered all of my ingredients from Asda's 'Click and Collect' ready to pick up on Friday. I know, I've even impressed myself with my organisation skills!! I've even printed up the menu to set at the table, I fear I need to get out more!! But for three courses and an extra treat, it's cost me around £15 a head, which is pretty good going for a posh Valentine's on a budget...I just hope my cooking skills help me pull it off! If you're going to cook from home, my main tip would be don't be too ambitious, you want to enjoy it remember, rather than slaving in the kitchen all night long. And besides, there's nothing wrong with a pizza and a DVD if all else fails!

Whatever you're doing with yours, I hope Valentine's Day is amazing for you!

Thursday, 6 February 2014

Hello lovelies, hope you've had a lovely week! It's finally February, which means Spring is drawing nearer, and pretty soon the winter wardrobe will be banished back where it belongs. I love seeing colour creep into the shops this time of year, and the promise of Summer on the horizon. I could've bought a million bold coloured items yesterday...but as I'm saving I didn't. This makes me sad :(

Never mind, I'm not here to sulk...I'm here to tell you I've been branching out, and you can now follow my blog on Facebook. I promise with the FB page to post at least one photograph or comment a day, so I can update you on the go for those days that I can't really squeeze in a blog. I'm so grateful to you lovely people that take time out to read my little blog, and it means a lot to me that people are interested in what I have to say :) so a big THANKS to you all! So yeah, if you'd like to 'like' my FB page you can do so here!

My little treat to myself this week was the fabulous seasonal 'Elle Collections' magazine. It only appears on our shelves twice a year, but gives a great round-up of all the fashion shows and looks from the best designers for the current season. Its £7, and honestly I think it's worth every penny! And whilst you're there, you may as well pick up the 'Vogue' March issue too...the lovely postman brought mine!